


物の哀れ

by washiwashi



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, but they both like each other, mao is gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21708595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/washiwashi/pseuds/washiwashi
Summary: Mao and Ritsu look at the sakura blossoms on the last day of their second year.
Relationships: Isara Mao/Sakuma Ritsu
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	物の哀れ

**Author's Note:**

> Mono no aware (物の哀れ), translated as "an empathy toward things".

It was mid-March, the beginning of Spring, when Ritsu had invited Mao to come to the garden instead of attending their all-school, end-of-year closing ceremony. Although Mao is no delinquent and would never miss an event as important as the closing ceremony, the ‘no,’ he would have normally uttered was caught on his lips upon seeing Ritsu gaze at him longingly, his ruby eyes invitingly captivating Mao as Ritsu held onto his arm and carefully dragged him outside one of the school’s doors.

“C’mon, Maa-kun~! Just this once… I saw people come out here last year and it looked like so much fun. We won’t be able to go next year since we’ll be graduating.”

“Um…” Mao began. His gaze caught Ritsu’s. “Y-yeah, sure. Let’s go, Ritchan.”

They were standing in the garden’s vast forest of sakura trees, soft winds gently shaking the pink flowers’ petals. The blossoms were quite fragrant and smelled sweet, like the treats that Ritsu often concocted. Ritsu led Mao to a tree taller and larger than the others. He sat down in front of its horizon-facing side and pulled Mao down with him. The pair sat like that for a short while. Mao observed the sakuras, registering their bright and vibrant pink petals to his memory. As the flowers faintly shook in the wind, loose petals would fall and get carried away by the steady breeze.

Mao turned his head to focus his emerald eyes on the ruby-eyed boy seated beside him.

He had never laid his eyes on someone—no, anything—so beautiful as what he was gazing upon now. 

Ritsu had fallen asleep against the dark, black-grey trunk of the sakura tree, his arms limply resting over his lap. He looked like a precious doll, everything at peace. His long and dark eyelashes curled up to the sky, making him look like a model. As per usual, his mouth was slightly opened and a single, sharp fang peeked out from under his top lip. A faint, rosy blush was dusted across his porcelain cheeks. His inky, charcoal-coloured hair was slightly messy as usual, but something was different about it at that moment.

Sakura petals were scattered generously among the boy’s midnight-coloured locks. They sat atop the fluffy strands and wobbled as Ritsu steadily breathed. 

_ He… he looks so…  _ Mao didn’t want to think it, nor say it, but his mouth betrayed him. “Cute,” he muttered.

This whole scene Mao was observing looked like something out of a painting, something too perfect and too well-staged to be real. Ritsu looked like a doll, sitting perfectly against the tree, asleep, flower petals tucked among his hair. Mao couldn’t resist the urge to run his hand over Ritsu’s hair, and tuck a loose lock behind his ear. Mao sealed the hair in place by putting a fallen sakura above his ear. His hand lingered on Ritsu’s hair as he watched the boy sleep, all other thoughts and worries escaping him. All he could focus on was Ritsu.

As a reaction to this gesture, Ritsu’s eyelids slowly opened, revealing the ruby jewels Mao always looked upon fondly. Ritsu’s eyes shifted towards Mao, his hand still on the pale boy’s hair. His eyes widened slightly, which caused Mao to be pulled from his thoughts back into reality.

“A-ah! S-sorry, Ritchan,” said Mao quickly, scrambling to pull his hand away from Ritsu. He could feel himself turning the same colour as his hair.

Ritsu let out a soft, tired chuckle at Mao’s embarrassment. Mao could listen to that laugh for ages.

“It’s alright, Maa-kun~. I’m sure I look very pretty.” Ritsu reached to touch the sakura Mao had placed above his ear. “Do you think so?”

“U-um, yeah, I think you do,” Mao stuttered out, tearing his gaze away from Ritsu.

“Thank you~.” Ritsu responded. Mao looked back at him, but he quickly regretted it as soon as he laid eyes on Ritsu.

Ritsu was smiling softly, his lips curving slightly upwards at the edges. He looked happy. But that wasn’t all—Ritsu’s cherry-coloured eyes were half-lidded, his head was slightly tilted, and worst of all—the sakura blossom still remained above his ear, and the sakura petals from before were still dispersed atop his hair.

He looked so beautiful, so precious, so peaceful that Mao couldn’t even put it into words. His blush grew deeper—if that was even possible—as he looked upon the other boy. While everything imaginable about Ritsu looked beautiful right now, one thing in particular stood out to Mao. Mao thought that Ritsu’s smile looked the prettiest of all. Despite being asleep, Ritsu’s smile looked purely happy; the emotion was drawn all over his pale and fragile face. Mao hadn’t seen him smile like that in a long time.

_ It’s kind of funny, really. Even though he’s asleep right now, Ritchan is showing more emotion and happiness than he does when he’s awake. He really is beautiful right now. _

Sakura blossoms represent the beauty and fragility of life, but their short-lived period of blooming also stands to remind how dangerously fleeting every lived moment is.

People had always told Mao their tales and stories about how they finally understood and empathised with the meaning of the sakuras after experiencing a certain, fleeting moment. They always said that he, too, would experience a moment like that someday. Mao would always earnestly respond saying what he believed to be the truth: he had never experienced such a moment, and his life is so plain that he probably never will. Fleeting moments are only for special people—and Mao is not one of those, anyway.

The iconic blush-coloured flower’s symbolism never had any meaning to him until now, as he looked upon Ritsu’s gentle, beautiful, perfect smile—one so beautiful that it could melt into the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> um hi.. first posted enstars fic kinda nervous... but i hope you liked this tiny one-shot type thing :^) it was originally part of a much longer (and sadder) maoritsu story, but i got lazy to finish it lol so i literally just pulled this small scene from it hehe !!!!!  
> -  
> ask 4 twt + insta if u wanna scream abt the boys <3


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